


The Only Honest Answer

by Charientist



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Cheating on a test, Discussion of Dishonesty, Fix-It, Gen, Kobayashi Maru, Questioning Authority, Small-Scale Fix-It, The Kobayashi Maru is not an effective test, Trials, what does it mean to cheat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23939203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charientist/pseuds/Charientist
Summary: Transcript of the Kobayashi Maru trial if Kirk had been able to finish his defense, starting from just before it was interrupted in canon.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 87





	The Only Honest Answer

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to MageKing17 for a beta, and to many other Discord friends for encouraging me to post this after months of trying and failing to make it more than dialogue.

SPOCK: The purpose is to experience fear, fear in the face of certain death, to accept that fear and maintain control of oneself and one's crew. This is a quality expected in every Starfleet captain.

(Beat)

SPOCK: I see you have no response-

KIRK: Hold on, Commander. I think I might be misunderstanding you. I hope I'm misunderstanding you.

SPOCK: I cannot conceive of why you would aspire to inaccuracy.

KIRK: Really? Well I, at least, prefer to be wrong about terrible things. It just sounds to me like you're saying... since my father died after he became a captain, I should know that it's only right for captains to die. And because you expect captains to be afraid, I should know that he must have been terrified. And I should also aspire to that.

SPOCK: I believe you are willfully misinterpreting my argument.

KIRK: Really? Then I guess it was just a personal attack.

SPOCK: Cadet-

KIRK: Fear of death is a biological restraint, and captains need to keep control despite it, yes. But a rigged simulation is nothing like certain death. It's just defeat, and you should never hope for someone in control to accept total defeat.

ADMIRAL BARNETT: Cadet Kirk, Commander Spock, while I'm sure this is fascinating to you both, this is a hearing regarding academic dishonesty on the Kobayashi Maru. I advise you both to stick to the topic at hand.

(Beat)

KIRK: When I signed up for my second attempt, it was to see if I could learn from my failure. There weren’t real lives or ships at stake; the only thing I lost in trying was time. And since the test is mandatory, someone clearly feels it's worth the time. But I got a lot of criticism for retaking the test, a lot of people insisting on sharing their opinions. It didn’t take long to see a clear divide. Instructors see the Kobayashi Maru as a low-risk way to test how cadets react under pressure. Cadets see the Kobayashi Maru as an item on a checklist toward graduation. Everyone knows going in that none of their actions make a difference. You take it, you fail, you’re done. You get back to studying for your real finals. It's not a mindset that encourages a stress response. By the time I signed up for my third attempt, I knew that no matter what the simulation hopes to accomplish, it only tests one thing.

ADMIRAL BARNETT: (impatient) Which is what, Kirk?

KIRK: What will you do in the face of defeat?

(Beat)

KIRK: My answer? If I can, try again. And again. As many times as it takes. But if I can't? If the cost is too high or it won't make a difference? When lives are on the line and the odds are against me, I don't play fair. I look at who made the rules, and why. How are they enforced? When do they make exceptions? Where are they deficient or inconsistent? What are they used to justify? Who do they protect? And then I use the answers to change the conditions of the test. Anything less would insult every sacrifice made on the way.

(Beat)

KIRK: That's not dishonesty, academic or otherwise. It was the only honest answer I could give.


End file.
